Dramatic rescues from floods

At least a dozen families were in a welfare centre last night
after one of the longest and most damaging storms in years
lashed the country.

Northland was the worst hit but severe thunderstorms were due
to hit Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua overnight.

The foul weather caused slips, closed roads, burst river
banks and was thought to have claimed one life at Haruru in
Northland.

Local resident Jordan Rivers said he felt helpless as he
watched a 28-year-old woman disappear into the floodwaters.

"She got caught on a fence and hung on for about five minutes
but couldn't hold on any longer, the water was too strong for
anyone to help," he told TVOne.

It's believed she was swept away while trying to get back to
a house from her partially submerged vehicle.

Police and fire service officers used helicopters, jetskis
and inflatable boats to rescue others stranded in the
floodwaters near a Haruru property where police say the
occupants had been partying most of the night.

One man was plucked from a tree and another man was rescued
from a shed roof.

Others had lucky escapes after a series of dramatic rescues
around the country.

• A mother and her two young children had to be helped from
their car after it was trapped by rising flood waters just
after 2pm on the main southeastern coastal highway. A fire
crew reached the stricken car and pulled the family to
safety.

• A 75-year-old man and his 50kg Rottweiler were plucked to
safety from a swollen stream at the rear of the
Coatesville-Riverhead Highway, northwest of Auckland.

• In the northern township of Moerewa, the fire service was
called to ferry a sick patient across town after floodwaters
blocked an ambulance on an emergency call.

Northland was the hardest hit by the rain. Up to 128mm fell
in the upper Waitangi catchment between 3pm Friday and
yesterday morning.

TV3 journalist Hilary Barry was one of thousands affected,
cut off from her husband and two children when flooding raged
across a country road near Hikurangi.

Barry was on her way north from Auckland yesterday to join
her family for a weekend break when 50cm of river water
blocked the road for several hours.

"My husband Michael and the kids were a few hundred metres
away on the other side of the water and we were shouting
messages over to each other," Barry said. Eventually they
waded through the waters.

What next?

After a week of wind and rain, it appears the worst has
passed. Auckland will have a fine start to the week, says
MetService. Tuesday should also be clear.

Waikato is forecast to expect similar with clear spells
throughout the week. The lower half of the North Island will
have a cold and showery start tomorrow.

Showers will persist until Wednesday followed by a short fine
spell. But more rain is expected next week.